Curriculum organisation in the English and Portuguese education systems: a comparative analysis

Abstract

In an era of globalisation in which educational systems tend towards homogeneity concerning political decision, we analyse the curricular organisation of the English and Portuguese systems comparatively by identifying significant differences – in school ages, curriculum subjects, higher education admission and types of schools – which go beyond all similarities. On the basis of a comparative approach to documents which determine the structure of both systems, the curricular centralisation is found to be the common denominator – even though the Portuguese system shows a more explicit and complex curricular control – and some proposals for curricular innovation are unravelled.